Leave your expectations at the door. Yes, this documentary starts off as a
lighthearted examination of “yellow fever” (a term the director uses): Caucasian
men who are into Asian women – with a focus on one guy in particular: Steven,
aged 60, a creepy/kind of pathetic, twice-divorced San Francisco airport worker.
But as we follow Steven’s quest to marry Sandy (at 30, considered an old maid
back home in China), the film takes on new dimensions – as does the filmmaker’s
role. Ms. Lum, who is herself married to a white man, reluctantly becomes
translator/confidante/marriage counsellor to the couple as their relationship
hits some snags. Ms. Lum struggles with whether she is crossing the line as a
filmmaker, and her film asks some honest questions about the role of the
documentarian. As Steven tells her: “You’re not God; you’re just a director.”